NASCAR Nightmare: Black Driver Taunted at Talladega with Noose in Garage

Today is a dark say in the history of American sports.

Our nation has been thrust into a state of disorder, as we face the demons of racism and inequality still, some 244 years after we collectively declared that all men are created equal and that this would be a nation of liberty and justice for all.

NASCAR, the nation’s professional stock car racing league, has reacted to this cultural catharsis by banning depictions of the Confederate battle flag from being displayed on their properties due to the fact that white supremacists have commandeered this symbolism over the course of the last six decades or so.

Unfortunately, this new rule has only pushed the sport’s lesser men into a corner, where they are now lashing out unfathomably in cowardice.

A noose was found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, on Sunday, less than two weeks after Wallace, who is NASCAR’s only Black driver, successfully pushed the stock car racing series to ban the Confederate flag at its tracks and facilities.

“Late this afternoon, NASCAR was made aware that a noose was found in the garage stall of the 43 team. We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act,” NASCAR said in a statement. “We have launched an immediate investigation, and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport.

“As we have stated unequivocally, there is no place for racism in NASCAR, and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all.”

Wallace would go on to say that he was deeply “saddened” by the event, but was unshaken in his resolve to bring attention to the issues of racism and inequality in NASCAR and beyond.